Wall construction for bathrooms



Dec. 25, 1928.

F. H. MICHAELIS WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR BATHROOMS Filed June 6, 1927 J Z2Z 5 9 Patented Dec. 25, 1928.

tlh lTE FREDERICK H. MICHAELIS, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR BATHBOOMS.

Application filed June 6, 1327. Serial No. 196,753.

This invention relates to wall construction and is designed moreespecially as a substitute for wall tiling in bath rooms and the like.Walls composed in whole or in part of the customary glazed tilin areexpensive, not only because of the relatively high cost of such tile,but because very skilled labor is required to lay the tile. Furthermorewhen repairs are necessary, skilled labor is necessary and the cost forrepairs is correspondingly high.

My object is to produce a wall contruction which is of as attractiveappearance as a wall composed of glazed tile or the like, and which isof greater strength and durability. A further object is to produce ametal shell wall construction possessing the desirable attributes abovementioned and which is much more economical in first cost and in,-stallation than brick tiling, can be installed or erected in a fractionof the time required to lay brick tiling, and may have an enam= eledface which may be as readily washed and cleaned as glazed brick tiling.

lVith the above objects in view, the invention consists in certain noveland useful features of construction and combinations of parts ashereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fullyunderstood, reference is to be had tothe accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is an inner face View of a fragment of a wall constructionembodying the invention and simulating brick tiling in appearance.

Figure 2 is an end View of the same.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line HIIII ofFigure 1, the main or tiling plate member being broken away at twopoints to foreshorten it vertically.

Figure 4 is a perspective view on a scale intermediate that of thepreceding figures, and showing the main or tiling plate foreshortenedvertically by breaking it away in two places, the figure also showingthe baseboard member, the tiling member and the rail n'iember spacedapart to indicate more clearly the method of their assembly. L I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary View showing the rail and the main or tilingplate member assembled operatively but with a border strip interposedbetween them.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, 6 indicates a. floor support orjoist construction, 7 a wall construction which in many cases willinclude lathing of the expanded metal type, illustrated in theconventional manner for wire netting as at 8. Any other means to whichcement will adhere may be used in lieu of lat-hing.

The wall facing proper, comprises three metal members in superposedrelation, namely, a floor board member 9, a main or tile member 10, anda head rail member 11. The floor board member is in the form of a metalstrip disposed. vertically around the room in the same manner as anordinary floor board, except that the strip is of angular form, so thatwhen its top flange or arm 12 is fitted against the lat-hing there isprovided between. the latter and the body portion of the strip avertical chamber 18. The floor board memberispreferably continuousexcept for doorway intersections or the like (not shown), and at itslower edge it is provided with a flange 14 through which it is nailed orotherwise fastened to the floor construction of the room projecting fromthe outer edge of the flange or arm 12, which is horizontal bypreference, there is provided an angular extension orupwardly-projecting flange 15, which fits against and is nailed orotherwise fastened to the wall construction. The fiange 1a is adapted tounderlie the fiooring indicated at 16, and at the junction with theflooring the floor board member is curved to extend downwardly andinwardly as at 17 to the plane of the upper surface of the floorin g andthus form a round corner and avoid an angle such point in which dust andthe like may settle to make cleaning more difficult and laborious. Theround corner furthermore adds to the attractiveness of the,

room, and in this connection it may be stated that at each corner of theroom there will be corner strips abutting strips (not shown) butpreferably of rounded form so as to provide rounded wall corners for theroom, these of openings 18 produced by stamping out of the arm acorresponding series of depending tongues 19, whlch tongues are spacedfrom the body of the floor board member and the adjacent wallconstruction, and the said arm 12 is "furthermore provided with aplurality of elongated openings or slots 20 adjacent the flange 15.

The member 10 which is the main or wall member, is also of sheet metaland is preterably of channel form, and is arranged with its lower flan eor arm 2i titted flatly upon the flange or arm 12 of the floor boardanemher, the upper flange or arm of member 10 abutting the wallconstruction and being provided at its outer margin with anupwardlyprojecting flange 23 nailed or otherwise tastened to the wallconstruction. At the outer edge of the flange or arm 21 are formed aseries of depending 2-1 extending down through the elongated openings orslots 20 of arm 12 of the floor board member, whereby the lower portionor the member 10 is interlocked to the underlying member 9 as regardsmovement in every direction. except upward moven'ient, which movement isprevented by the nailing or other fastening ott' flange 23 to the wallconstruction, as explained. The flange or arm 21 is provided withopenings 25 registering with openings 18 of flange or arm 12 ot'tliefloor board iember, and said. openings 25 are provided by stamping outof flange or arm 21. the upwardly-projecting tongues which like tongues19 are intermeiiliate the space between the body portion ot channelplate member 10 and the wall construction. The upper flange or arm 22 ofthe member 10 is also provided with a series of openings 27corresponding to openings 25, and produced by stamping out or saidflange or arm the depending tongues 28, and the flange or arm 22adjacent its upwardly-projecting flange 23 is provided with a series ofelongated opening or slots 29.

The rail member 11 is also preferably of channel form, but bypreference, the channel is deeper than the channel of member 10, so thatsaid rail member shall overhang at the inner side or face 01' member 10,and for ornamental eilect the lower inner corner of the rail member 11is of compoundcurve form, in end view as at *30. The lower arm 31 ofmember 11 is provided with openings 32 registering with openings 21',and produced by stamping out of arm 81, upwardlyprogecting tongues 33.The arm 31 also provided at its outer margin with depending tongues 3%extending through the openings or slots 29 ot' flange or arm andint-erlocking the rail member with member 10 as regards movement in alldirections except vertically upward. The upper arm of the rail member 11is provided with a flange 35 fitting against and nailed to the wallconstruction, and said upper arm of the rail member is provided with asuitable number Ofopenings 36 produced by stamping down wardly out ofsaid arm, the tongues From the foregoing it, will be apparent that thereis communication established vertically between the spaces providedbetwe n the wall structure and the superposed members rcspectively, thatwhen cemcntitious material in semi-fluid condition is poured in at tl etop in suilicient quantity it will till the entire void and constitute asolid backing for the sheet metal members and a means, through itsadherence the metal or equivalent lat cof the wall struture. ci'permanently anchoring the sheet metal members in position this union orcourse being made more dependable by reason of embedment of the variousinternal ton o; the 'iembers, in the cement, a la reference hereinmaking more specific mention of the preferred course followed inapplying the ccmentitious material, and an alternate method oi applyingsuch material.

If it is desired that the wall member shall appear as tiling, it will beformed on its inner face with intersecting grooves. To simulateconventional tiling. such 'rooves are formed as horizontal and verticalintersecting grooves 38 and which grooves can be filled or pointed withmortar or the like, to give a more realistic imitation of individuallylaid tiles and it is also desirable at the joints between the members 9and 10, and 10 and 11, to provide joints which conform in ap pearance tothe joints 38, and is accomplished by rece g the lower i corners of themembers i0 and 11, as incicated at it) and d1 respectively.

It will be apparent 01 course that the inner faces of the variousmembers may be enameled to provide a durable gl ss finish in white orany other color or combination of colors, to still further add to therealistic tiling ett'ect produced on the mind of the beholder and toprovide a finish which can be readily and easily cleaned. hen themembers of the wall have been assembled together as explained, the wallcan be made solid and substantial after first closing the space at thebottom of the floor board member with lathing 42 or otherwise, bypouring asemi-liquid cement or material of a cementitious nature throughthe openings 36' of therail member, this material passing down throughthe various registering openings mentioned until the entire space fromthe floor to the top of the rail member is a solid mass l?) whichbecomes monolithic when set and by adherence to the wall construction,and by embedmentof the various tongues mentioned. cooperates with thefastening devices hereinbo'fore mentioned. in securing the metal wallmembers permanently and rigidly in position. It will be understood ofcourse that it the semi-liquid material is not of a too quiclosettingchar acter, it can be placed in each member after the same has beensecured in position, in-

stead of being introduced only at the top of the rail member, ashereinbefore suggested. After the installation described has beeneffected, the walls may be plastered above the rail member, and coverand hide from view the flange 85 by which the rail member is nailed orotherwise fastened to the wall construction.

lVhere it is desired to provide an insert border at the bottom of therail member, the latter will be spaced above the member 9, but stillinterlocked therewith by overlapping the flange 23 with the dependingtongues 34 and nailing or otherwise fastening both to the wallconstruction. This space or channel can then be closed by a border stripor bar eta of ornamental appearance or color contrasting with that ofthe adjacent wall members, the strip or bar being cemented or otherwisesecured in position. v

From the above description, it will be'apparent that while I havedescribed and illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, itis to be understood that I reserve the right to make all changes whichproperly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

' I claim: 7 p

1. In a room wall, an upright plate member secured to the floorconstruction and; spaced from the wall construction, and provided at itsupper edge with an arm extending outwardly and secured to the wallconstruction and provided with a plurality of openings, a platesuperimposed on the firstamed plate and spaced from the wallconstruction and provided at its lower edge with an outwardly-projectingarm fitting flatwise on and interlocked with the outwardly-projectingarm of the first-named plate and provided with openings registering withthe openings of said arm of the latter; said superimposed plate havingat its upper end, an outwardly-projecting arm fastened to the wallconstruction and provided with one or more openings through whichcementitious material may be introduced to fill the spaces between thewall construction and said plates and the openings in the arms of thelatter.

2. In a room wall, an upright plateinember secured to the floorconstruction and spaced from the Wall construction, and provided at itsupper edge with an arm extending outwardly and secured to the wallconstruction and provided with a plurality of openings, a platesuperimposed on the lirst named plate and spaced from the wallconstruction and provided at its lower edge with an outwardly-projecting arm fitting flatwise on and interlocked with theoutwardly-projecting arm of the first-named plate and provided withopenings registering with the openings of the arm of the latter; saidsuperimposed plate having at its upper end, an outwardlypro ect1ng armfastened to the wall construction and provided with one or more openingsthrough which cementitious material may be introduced to fill the spacesbetween the wall construction and said plates and the register ingopenings in the arms of the latter, one of the plates at its junctionwith the other and in the plane of the body portions of both beingoffset to provide a horizontal joint opening through the inner face ofthe wall surface formed by said plates and susceptible of being pointedwith cementitious material.

8. In a room. wall, an upright plate member secured to the floorconstruction and spaced from the wall construction, and provided at itsupper end with an arm extending outwardly and secured to the wallconstruction and provided with a plurality of openings, a platesuperimposed on the firstnamed plate and spaced from the wallconstruction and provided at its lower edge with an outwardly-projectingarm, fitting fiatwise on and interlocked with the outwardly-projectingarm of the first-named plate and provided with openings registering withthe openings of the arm of the latter; said superimposed plate having atits upper end, an outwardly-projecting arm fastened to the wallconstruction and provided with one'or more openings through whichcementitious mate rial may be introduced to fill the spaces be tween thewall construction and said plates and the registering openings in thearms of the latter, one of the plates at its junction with the otherplate and in the plane of the body portion of the plates being offset toprovide a horizontal joint opening through the inner face of the wallsurface formed by said plates and susceptible of being pointed withcementitious material; said superimposed plate being provided over itsinner face, with intersecting grooves to be filled or pointed withcementitious material to simulate tiling of predetermined form and size.

l. In a room wall, an upright plate member secured to the floorconstruction and spaced from the wall construction, and provided at itsupper end with an arm extending outwardly and secured to the wallconstruct-ion and provided with a plurality of openings, a platesuperimposed on the first-named plate and spaced from the wallconstruction and provided at its lower edge with an outwardlyprojectingarm fitting flatwise on and interlocked with the outwardly-projectingarm of the first-named plate and provided with open-- ings registeringwith the openings of the arm of the latter; said superimposed platehaving at its upper end, an outwardlyprojecting arm fastened to the wallconstruction and provided with one or more openings, and achannel railplate member above the said superimposed'plate member, and provided witha lower outwardly-projecting arm abutting the wall construction at itsouter edge and interlocked with the said superimposed memher, andprovided with one or more openings, and provided also at its upperedgewith an outwardly-projecting arm provided at its outer edge with anupwardly-projecting fiange secured to the wall construction, said upperarm having one or more openings through which cementitious material maybe introduced for filling the said rail member and the underlyingmembers by passage through the openings of the respective arms of saidmembers.

5. in a room wall having an upright plate member secured to the floorconstruction and spaced from the wall construction, an arm extendingoutwardly from the )late and. secured to the wall construction, a secondupright plate member superimposed on the firstnamed plate andinterlocked therewith, and provided at its upper end with anoutwardlyprojecting arm secured to the wall construction, the saidoutwMelly-projecting arms or the members having openings through whicha. cementitious material may be introduced into and till the spacesbetween the upright plates and the wall construction, the provision inthe room wall characterised thus of tongues rigid with the said platesand standing between the latter and the wall construction.

6. In a room wall characterized as in claim 2, the provision of tonguesprojecting from the arms of said plates marginally or the openings ofthe arms and standing in planes intersecting that of said arms.

7. in a room wall, plates in vertical superposed edgewise abuttitngrelation, the bottom plate having a lower portion curved downward andinward and terminating at its inner margin in a depending flange securedto the floor construction, said plate also at its upper edge, having aperforated arm project ing outwardly and secured to the wall construction and the plate upon the bottom plate having perforated armsprojecting outwardly, the lower arm resting upon and interlocked withthe arm of the bottom plate with the perforations of the arms inregister, and the upper arm o1 the superposed plate being secured to thewall construction.

8. In a room wall characterized as in claim 7. the provision of tonguesrigid with said arms and standing between the respective plates and thewall construction.

9. in a room wall, an upright plate mem ber secured upon the floorconstruction and spaced from the wall construction and provided at itsupper edge with an outwardly projecting arm abutting and secured to thewall construction, a channel plate member superimposed sidewise on thesaid arm of the first-named member and forn'iing a continuation of theinner surface 01 the latter, the upper arm of the channel member beingsecured to the wall construction in a plane above that of the upper edgeof said member, the said abutting arms of the plates having a pluralityof registering openings, and one of the abutting arms having a pluralityo1 slots adjacent the wall construction and the other arm a plurality oftongues extending through said slots and interlocking the platestogether as regards lateral and endwise or longitudinal movement.

10. In a room wall, an upright plate member secured upon the floorconstruction and spaced from the wall construction, and provided at itsupper edge with an outwardly projecting arm abutting and secured to thewall construction, a channel plate superinr posed sidewise on the .aidarm of the firstnamed plate and forming a continuation oi the innersurface of the latter, the upper arm of the channel member being securedto the wall construction, and the said abutting arms oi the plateshaving a plurality of registering openings, one of the abutting armshaving a plurality of slots adjacent the wall construetion and the otherarm a plurality of tongues extending through said slots and interlockingthe plates together as regards lateral and endwise or longitudinalmovement, and a channel head rail member secured in sidewise position tothe wall construction above the firstnamed channel member andinterlocked with the latter and provided in its lower horizontal armswith openings registering with the openings in the upper arm of thefirst-named channel member, and with openings in its upper arm, and aborder strip interposed be tween the said channel member and channelhead rail member, with its inner face flush with the inner face of theformer.

11. The combination with a room wall having an inner facing to whichcementitious material will adhere, of a vertical metal facing for theinterior face of said wall and spaced inwardly therefrom, and comprisingsuperimposed channel members arranged horizontally with the bottomflange of one resting flatly on the top flange oi the other, the lowerplate member being provided at its upper end with a flange extensiondirectly engagmg the inner facing of and fastened to the wall structure,and the upper member being provided at its lower edge with an armdepending through the upper flange of the underlying member andinterlocking the members together as regards independent movement of theupper member inward of the lower memher; said superimposed membershaving registering openings providing continuity of the space betweenthem and the wall structure "from the bottom 01 the lower to the top ofthe upper member.

12. The combination with a wall structure of a room, of an interior wallfacing, comprising sheet metal channel members extend ing horizontallyand standing edgewise in superimposed relation, with the lower flange ofthe upper member resting flatly on the upper flange of the lower member;the upper flange of the lower member having an extension directlyengaging and fastened to the Wall structure, and the abutting flanges ofthe members having registering openings and bearing an interlockedrelation limiting movement of the lower end of the upper member in adirection away from the wall structure or longitudinal thereof.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature FREDERICK H. MICHAELIS

